Green As Grass
by Epic Breadstick
Summary: Pvt. Ben Carmine is a rook who is thrown into the depths of a war he's been fighting his whole life. Only now he's on the inside. AU. Read & Review!


**Disclaimer: **_I don't own Gears of War 1 or 2. This story will follow the basic plot [ as in total war against locust ] of the game. obviously there will be twists to the plot for you shitheads who don't know what i'm going to do about carmine NOT dying. because he isn't.  
_

_This chapter is just a little taste, hence the briefness. Read & Review.  
_

_

* * *

_

In the King Raven, Pvt. Ben Carmine peered through the scope of his Longshot, on alert for any sign of Locust or an emergence hole on strict orders from Colonel Hoffman, who was situated in a seat opposite him. Hoffman was barking orders into his Com unit that Carmine didn't bother trying to decipher.

"Hey, Carmine, check it out." Garrity, a fellow COG soldier, nudged Carmines shoulder enthusiastically, pointing with the barrel of his gun to the ground below. As they flew over it, Carmine smiled nostalgically at the dilapidated Thrashball stadium, which was built almost identical to the Roman Coliseum, only with modern alterations. Immediately, Carmine's head filled with the memories of attending Thrashball games with his brothers, admiring his favorite player, Augustus 'Cole Train' Cole. Who, Carmine recently heard much to his excitement, was a member of the Delta Squad.

Submersed in the pleasantries of nostalgia, Carmine was jarred back to attention when Garrity shouted over his shoulder, "We've got contact!"

Carmine had only a moments glance through the eyes of his helmet at the Seeder atop the stadium before a mortar – that strongly resembled shit, Carmine noted – came soaring towards the KR, colliding with the tail. It spun out of control, Carmine holding onto the seat harness with all his strength to keep from falling to his death.

Carmine didn't have the chance to feel scared as they plummeted, the ground growing dangerously closer every second. He squeezed his eyes shut, gripping on the harness so tightly that his fingers ached. He was lifted from his seat when the chopper met the pavement, bounced once, and skidded to a halt at the end of the street.

"Control, this is KR-16 reporting from Ilima city; We've been hit and require assistance for immediate pick-up, over." Said the pilot into his headset.

Colonel Hoffman huffed angrily and grabbed the Lancer at his head. "Garrity, Rook, get out there and guard the chopper. See any more mortars, shoot on sight." He ordered, jumping from the Raven, followed by the pilot and towards the tail of the chopper.

Garrity and Carmine walked up and down the road which was covered with all sorts of obstacles; overturned cars, random chunks of cement, pieces of buildings that were slowly sliding apart.

Times like these always made Carmine nervous, ever since the declaration of total war against the Locust. His stomach contracted nervously whenever the ground beneath him trembled even slightly. The last time he faced an emergence hole, there was an entire squad with him. Now it was only him and Garrity, both Rookies, both scared shitless.

But at the back of Carmines mind he knew that if he were to die, it would be like his brother: a hero's death. And that comforted him.

"Hey, Carmine, look at this shit." Garrity said from his right. Carmine looked over to see him knelt before something outside of what used to be a clothes store. Carmine walked backwards towards him, always on alert.

"What?" He asked when he reached Garrity.

"It's one of those fuckin' Wretches, man! You ever seen one before?" Garrity asked enthusiastically, poking the corpse with the barrel of his Lancer.

"Ugh," Carmine said under his breath. It was hideous by itself, and being dead and rotting was only adding to it.

"I've only seem 'em in the manuals." Garrity said, intrigued. "Damn, they're some ugly mother fuckers, aren't they?"

Carmine agreed. "Hold on," He began, a thought occurring to him. "does that mean there are Wretches around here?" Those things were terrifying just being dead. He looked around him anxiously.

Garrity shrugged. "Probably. Why else would a dead one laying around?"

Carmine didn't have an answer.

"Hey, shitheads! Keep an eye on that god damn sky!" Hoffman shouted from behind the chopper. From what Carmine saw he was fiddling with a computerized pad in a compartment at the tail of the KR.

Carmine gripped his Longshot even tighter, aiming it upwards and peering through the scope, scanning across the sky. As far as he could see, there was no sign of any mortars. And he hoped he'd never have to deal with a Seeder. He knew he would end up fucking up the Hammer of Dawn, maybe accidentally vaporizing a building…Carmine figured insecurely.

Fifteen minutes later another KR dropped in, landing steadily a couple of blocks away. A sigh of relief escaped Carmine, and he retreated towards the downed chopper.

"Pick-up is here, sir." Carmine reported to Hoffman. He huffed in response, engrossed in whatever it what he was doing. Carmine stood there awkwardly for a moment, unsure whether to stay and escort him to the Raven or go on with Garrity.

Carmine got his answer when the robot 'Jack' appeared besides Hoffman, the small screen sliding from the bottom and Anya appearing through a grainy image.

"Colonel, I detect serious seismic activity beneath you. I have reason to believe a Locust attack is…" She began.

Hoffman was way ahead of her. "Copy that. I want squads stationed at every god damn corner of this city, over." He turned towards Carmine. "We need this city cleared to buy time for the grind lifts, got it?"

Carmine stood there, confused. "Uh, sir…"

"God dammit, Rook!" Hoffman remembered, sliding on his black cap. "Get on that Raven, meet up with Delta Squad in Jacinto. Tell them you're their new trainee, on strict orders from the Colonel. I don't got time for this shit." And with that, he grabbed his Lancer from the ground and disappeared around the corner of a building. The pilot of the downed chopper was back in the pit, preparing to fly to the nearest repair and refuel station.

"Come on, man, let's get outta here." Garrity said, nudging Carmine with his gun. Together they jogged towards the pick-up.

"We're going back to Jacinto." Carmine told Garrity once they were situated within. Before Garrity could object, not wanting to miss the action, Carmine continued. "Colonel told me I'm with Delta…"

If Garrity's expression wasn't hidden behind a COG helmet, Carmine was sure he would have seen his jaw drop. "Delta? Holy shit, man! That's awesome!" He exclaimed. "But…why?"

Carmine shrugged. "Says I'm their new 'trainee'."

"But what about me?" Garrity wondered.

"I don't know, man." Carmine shrugged. "I must suck more than you."

Garrity chuckled. "Yeah, probably."


End file.
